Travel Briefs: Trips in the U.S.

March 19, 2006

Food marks the spot in Pennsylvania LANCASTER, Pa. -- Eat your way through Pennsylvania Dutch country this spring. The region is inviting visitors to check out "FlavorFest Food Trails," including an Ale Trail, a Dairy Trail, a Water & Winery Trail, a Market Basket Trail, and a Sweet'N'Salty Trail. Downloadable maps are available from www.padutchcountry.com or call (800) 723-8824 for details. You'll be able to order a printed culinary trail guide in April. Meanwhile, here are some places to explore on your own. In Lancaster County, twist your own pretzels at Intercourse Pretzel Factory in the town of Intercourse or at The Pretzel Factory or Sturgis Pretzel House in the town of Lititz. Lititz, which is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, is also home to a giant chocolate fountain at Cafe Chocolate, where you can try chocolate fondue. Just across the Chester County line, at Herr's Snack Foods, you can taste warm potato chips just off the line on factory tours offered Monday-Thursday. Hershey's Chocolate World has tours daily, with a new chocolate-making tour ride opening in April. For fresh farm produce and homemade food, try the Lancaster Central Market, or stop at one of the Amish- and Mennonite-owned roadside stands and bakeries, like the Bird in Hand Bake Shop. Behind-the-scenes tours are also available at restaurants such as Plain and Fancy in Bird-in-Hand and Miller's Smorgasbord in Ronks. Area bed-and-breakfasts are hosting culinary and wine events, such as a German-themed culinary weekend in May at The Harvest Moon B&B in New Holland -- www.harvestmoonbandb.com. For the kids, there are opportunities at working farms to milk cows, collect fresh eggs and take a hay ride. For listings, go to www.padutchcountry.com and click on "lodging" and then "working farms." New credit card offers rewards with Disney Save money on a family vacation to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., or Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif. The Walt Disney Company, together with Chase and Visa, have created a special credit card -- the Disney Rewards Visa Card. The card offers the ability to earn rewards without blackout dates that can be redeemed towards park tickets, hotel rooms, souvenirs, meals, character meet-and-greet events, and preferred seating at Disney parades. For information, visit www.chase.com/disney or www.visa.com/disney. Harley-Davidson plans to open a museum MILWAUKEE -- The Harley-Davidson motorcycle company is planning a museum to open in its hometown, Milwaukee, in 2008. The company will start construction this spring. In addition to a museum, the Menomonee Valley site will include a public riverwalk, retail space, restaurant and special events rooms. The museum will feature motorcycles from the company's collection of more than 400. It includes a 13-foot-long "King Kong," which had been customized over a 40-year period, Harley-Davidson's serial number 1 cycle from 1903 and Elvis Presley's 1956 Harley-Davidson KH motorcycle. Also on display will be posters, photographs, advertising, clothing, interactive exhibits and memorabilia, museum director Stacey Watson said. Details are at www.h-dmuseum.com. Factory designated national landmark DETROIT -- The former Ford Motor Co. Piquette Plant, a three-story brick factory that was the birthplace of auto industry pioneer Henry Ford's Model T, has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The plant, which was where the first Model T's were produced and served as the automaker's home from 1904 to 1910, was among a dozen sites to receive the designation by Interior Secretary Gale Norton. Norton said in a statement that the "national treasures are exceptional places that shed light on our history and help explain our past." Fewer than 2,500 sites have the received the distinction. The 66,000-square-foot plant was built in 1904. It housed Ford's business offices and manufacturing operations, and the Model T was planned and designed in a walled-off corner of the third floor. About 12,000 Model T's were built there between 1908 and 1910, when production was shifted to a bigger complex in Highland Park, a small city surrounded by Detroit. Perhaps the most famous vehicle ever produced, the "Tin Lizzie" became the symbol of low-cost, reliable transportation. Before production ended in 1927, Ford sold more than 15 million Model T's. Details at www.tplex.org -- Associated Press